Singling me out easily enough, Disciple pointed to me with his slender blade. “You and me, motherfucker,” He challenged me. “I'm going to gut you, then my army is going to feast on your entrails! Then, when you rise as one of them, I'm going to have you eat your own fucking baby right out from his mother's belly!”
“Don't,” Jarhead pleaded with me. I shook my head, dropping down lightly into The Tortoise, grabbing my katana. Apocalypse Girl looked at me, her eyes filled with emotion, but she said nothing to try to stop me. She had heard the threat, same as I had. Telling Valkyrie to get everyone back to Sydney Base if I fell, I kissed Apocalypse Girl.
“Kick his arse,” She whispered as I stepped out of the door. Disciple strode forward slowly, blade raised. As he approached I noted that his colouring was a little off... His eyes were starting to glaze over, though they still saw well enough to fight.
“So, that's why they ignored you in Brisbane. You're one of them already!” I taunted him. He smiled, teeth black.
“Yes.” Disciple stood before me. He took a deep breath. “It took me a little while to come to terms with the idea, but apparently I am Dead. All because of that fucking bitch that fucked up The Abbott's group.” The image of Biker's ruined face rose unbidden in my mind. I raised my blade.
Disciple had been a formidable fencer in life, winning numerous trophies at his favoured sport when we were growing up together. He had been quicker than anyone, and I truly feared for my life. Until, that was, we engaged in combat. Still phenomenally fast, his reflexes were dulled by Death, somewhat. Even so, his blade bit into the flesh of my shoulder on our first pass. “Hah!” Disciple gloated. “First blood!”
He may have hit me first, but it truly only served to piss me off. I charged him, slicing with my blade at head height. He raised his sword at just the right angle, just the right timing, to deflect my katana harmlessly above his hideously scarred face.
He lunged towards me, his blade thrusting at my stomach. I managed to sidestep the attack, barely, returning his with one of my own, slicing open his leg. Dark blood seeped out from the wound, already thick and clotted. He smiled. “Didn't feel a thing!” Disciple's Dead gathered around us both. His own blade lashed out, slicing my leg in the same place. I screamed in pain, fresh, bright red blood flowing from my injury.
Dropping to one knee, I leaned on my katana. Disciple, exultant in victory, sank his teeth into my shoulder, tearing loose a large flap of flesh that hung raggedly from his lips as he smiled around it at me. “Never thought you'd taste this good!” He told me as he chewed on part of me. Then, I struck, my sword flashing upwards, through his groin, stomach, torso and eventually cleaving his head in two.
The look of utter shock and surprise on both halves of Disciple's cloven face was delightful to behold. He fell apart, both halves in separate directions. With his demise, however, whatever control he had gained over the Dead surrounding me was lost, and they moved in. More teeth dug into both of my arms, then my already wounded leg, then gunfire erupted once more.
The relief of the shower of Dead bits that fell all over me did little to dull the pain that wracked my body from their teeth. I began to crawl away from the carnage, towards The Tortoise, I hoped. After a moment I realised that the grunts and groans of pain that I could hear were not all coming from me. I had crawled atop The Colonel, ravaged by Dead but still alive and kicking. “Get off of me, for fucks sake!” she moaned, pulling her pistol from her belt and firing at the pair of Dead that had been crawling after me.
More gunfire came from other angles, the remains of The Colonel's army fighting back against Disciple's former army. With no organisation, the Dead fell easily and The Colonel and I managed to pull each other to our feet and stagger back to The Tortoise. Apocalypse Girl and Machete ran to assist us to the medbay, where Doctor and Apprentice awaited.
evening
My wounds were superficial compared to The Colonel's but we were both cleaned up by Doctor, then Apprentice placed one hand on each of our foreheads and began to chant. After a moment I realised that she was chanting lyrics to a song she used to sing back in high school, but for whatever reason, it clearly worked, as I could see my arms, at least, healing before my eyes.
When she was finished she collapsed, falling over me. I helped her up, moving her into the sleeping quarters with The Colonel's assistance. Falling into bed next to Apocalypse Girl, she wrapped her arms around me, her eyes wet with unshed tears. We were well on our way back to Sydney Base by then, what remained of The Colonel's troops following.
The Smart Couple greeted us at the main door when we returned, eager to be told all the news of the battle. They were less than pleased to hear that The Colonel's forces had been almost wiped out by Dead and Dingoes but ecstatic that Disciple was no more. I was less than happy at that particular situation. Whatever he had become afterwards, he had once been one of my closest friends.
July 19th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
I awoke with a start. Apocalypse Girl was chatting in one corner of our room with Machete and Sister, and Scout popped her head in. “Breakfast is ready, guys!” She said, cheerfully. I was starving, personally, though not feeling particularly cheerful. To be honest, I still felt as though I had just been stabbed and half eaten just yesterday, despite Apprentice's amazing ability to heal people.
One of The Colonel's men, one I recognised from Canberra, clapped me on the back carefully, “Welcome to the club,” He told me, showing me the back of his neck, where a ring-shaped scar from a previous bite lay. More of her men had been bitten than not, it seemed, at least this morning. I had never been more glad that The Major had forced us to test his vaccine than this morning. Without it, The Colonel's army would have been considerably smaller.
By the time we made it to breakfast, the discussion was already underway. There were more mutants in the Depths, apparently. Gigantic snakes, mainly, that had been forced to seek whatever warmth they could over the Winter, though there were signs of others, things with some pretty nasty claws. The debate was whether to stay and try to clear them out or move on to another base.
Scout had been in contact with Coober's Nest overnight, apparently Ginger and the others there had been continuing to improve the overhead town, and we were all more than welcome there. Doctor was arguing for all of us to head back to Melbourne and The School, but then Nurse was there growing a little mini-Doctor inside her.
“What about this AR18 Facility? It seems to be the place to go, at least right now,” The Colonel suggested. Apocalypse Girl was aghast at that possibility. “We can get there easily enough using the train system, though,” The smaller military woman continued. “Coober's Nest or The School would both be an overland trip.”
“We can't take The Tortoise into those tunnels, though,” Valkyrie said. “I really don't want to abandon it, not after The Nightmare.” Viking told us that she was right, Stutter and Nutter would never forgive them for that.
Apocalypse Girl wanted to go further still, suggesting that we head for Adelaide once again. I have to admit, the last time we had been there it looked almost as though the apocalypse hadn't even happened. Somebody had cleaned up the roads of all the pileups and smashes and crashes and abandoned vehicles and there had seemed to be few Dead. I wanted to know who had been responsible for that, admittedly, but feared to run afoul of another Empire.
noon
Figuring that the debate would take a while, Apocalypse Girl and I excused ourselves after lunch so that we could spend some time alone together. We lay in bed talking, mostly reminiscing about those lost to us in the last few months, Redbeard and Biker, Copper, The Other Twin, Fat Dealer, Kindly Lady, Archer. Auntie, Gift-shop Girl, Boy and Girl, too. Even Granny. It hurt to lose so many friends, and those we had made since the Dead first rose... they were people that we had learned to trust with our lives.
A knock on the door an instant before it opened to admit Machete and Scout. They had also had more than they could take
of the debate as to where to go next. Next to join us were Tiny and The Twin. Sonny followed them almost immediately, with Viking storming in ranting about The Colonel's inability to see reason almost on his heels. Jarhead poked his head in the doorway, seeing the overpopulated sleeping quarters, grinned at me and told us he would make sure nobody else came in.
About an hour later, The Colonel stuck her head in and asked to see Apocalypse Girl and myself in the computer lab. The Smart Couple were both present, Jarhead too, and Viking and Valkyrie insisted on coming in with us.
“It seems to me,” The Colonel began, “that we can't come up with our next move. I have been in contact with some residual government agencies that have taken up residence at AR18, but the rest of you seem to want to go back to your families and friends. My suggestion is this; I will take whatever is left of my soldiers and the formula for the vaccine to AR18. The rest of you can, as far as I'm concerned, do whatever the fuck you want.”
This news stunned us, at least somewhat. Her stance had always been one of protecting the civilian population wherever and whenever possible. I asked her if there was some reason behind her sudden change of heart. She replied that she still wanted to protect us and felt that the best chance for continued survival was to reconnect with whatever is left of the government.
“Good.” Viking said. “I'll take The Tortoise back to The School, tomorrow morning. Anybody that wants to is welcome to join us,” Apocalypse Girl looked at me for a moment before replying that we wouldn't be going with them. I nodded my agreement, as I went with her. As far as I was concerned, I was done chasing about after other fuckers now. I had a family of my own to look after.
With that finally settled, we figured that for our last night here, we would have a huge meal and just try to relax and forget the apocalypse for the time being. The Colonel left the computer lab to see to her troops, Viking and Valkyrie went to gather up anyone that wanted a lift to the south and Apocalypse Girl and I were left alone with The Smart Couple.
“We're moving on as well,” Smart Guy told us in an almost conspiratorial whisper. “We've discovered another smaller underground facility that just might have access to some useful technology. We'll keep in touch via radio, though.” I asked him exactly where this small facility was, but he wouldn't speak of it further.
evening
Roasted meats littered the tables in the mess hall, the aroma filling the air stimulating the salivary glands of everybody present. The Twin and Scout were taunting Sister and Sonny, who had been busted getting busy in a naked sense a couple of hours earlier. The newly busted couple were blushing a deep crimson, though the comments made were not truly derisive.
I felt apprehensive about another lengthy road trip back to Adelaide, to be honest, but it seemed somehow appropriate to be heading back home once more. The Colonel had offered us the use of our choice of her vehicles, so naturally we chose the tank. Smiling, she told us that she had figured we'd take that one. I asked her if she was sure she didn't need it, only to be told that there was likely much better tech where she was heading.
“You should really consider coming with us,” The Colonel told Apocalypse Girl, thinking that I was out of earshot. “She wants you there, more than anyone. Fuck, even more than this damn vaccine!” I couldn't help but wonder exactly who she was, but Apocalypse Girl clearly didn't want to go. After a moment to study her expression, The Colonel apologised for bringing it up and went back to her soldiers.
“Who else is coming with us back to Adelaide?” Apocalypse Girl wanted to know. The Twin's hand shot up, Sister's a moment later with Sonny's attached. Scout said that she'd come with us, but would probably head back north from there. Tiny told us that she was coming whether we wanted her or not and Jarhead also wanted to come along, stating that we would need someone to operate the turret. With this many riding inside it would be more than a little cramped.
Apprentice, also wanting to join us, asked The Colonel if we could perhaps take a jeep along as well. Smiling through her now heavily scarred face, she agreed instantly. At that moment the power went out. Only for an instant, but it was enough to startle. Feeling something niggling at the back of my neck I glanced upward. There! A tiny speck traversing the ceiling, an inky black spot maybe half a centimeter in diameter darting back and forth, trying to escape my gaze. Gradually everybody became aware of it and all conversation ceased. The tiny Shadow then darted for the nearest exit, zigging down the wall, zagging out the door and then it was gone.
“What the everloving fuck was that?” Apocalypse Girl demanded to know, clearly shaken. She had been with me the first time we encountered Fluffy the Schrandfelths, but hadn't been through the Sydney Shadowzone.
“A spy perhaps?” Tiny suggested. “Clearly it followed us from Sydney. I dread to think what it was doing here.” Jarhead suggested that The Shadows was probably just wanting to know more about those strange beings that had gone through it's territory, despite having followed us every step of the way through the Shadowzone.
I figured we were probably alright, and said so, as The Shadows had engulfed us and deposited us safely outside their area almost precisely where we had wanted to be. Apocalypse Girl looked scared.
So was I.
July 20th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Saying goodbye to friends is never easy, particularly when you know that you might never see them again. Viking finally asked Valkyrie to marry him during breakfast, completely destroying whatever apprehension last night's Shadow appearance might have caused, at least temporarily. There was a great deal of rejoicing, in fact. Even The Colonel broke into a grin.
Still, whatever celebrations we might have engaged in before ended up diluted into simple hugs and our best wishes for their happy future together. However long that might last. I could feel Apocalypse Girl's eyes on me, knew that she was more than a little annoyed that the blonde giant had proposed to his equally tall, equally blonde female counterpart and I, well... Yeah, anyway, enough about that!
We piled into the tank and jeep after watching our friends head off to the south in The Tortoise, bade The Colonel farewell and began our long journey back, once again, to Adelaide. I found myself missing the familiar streets of home. The tank was slightly different to the one we had helped appropriate for The Mech-Techs, roomier on the inside, for one thing, but it certainly handled the same way.
noon
Not a lot on the road, some evidence of survivors having scavenged a few abandoned cars, a small town, tiny really, that was totally devoid of any movement. There were a couple of corpses lying in the streets when we stopped to investigate, but they had already been taken care of. Whoever had lived here had moved on, taking absolutely everything that might remotely prove useful. Most of the houses, for instance, were totally empty, even of furniture, and were even missing most of their doors.
The sheer emptiness of the roads in this part of the country was starting to get to us. To compensate we turned on the radio, Sister and Apocalypse Girl chatting away with Smart Girl as she and her male counterpart made for their little secret location.
For a while I rode on top of the tank, talking with Tiny. She always seemed to have a slightly different perspective on things. I got the impression that she was glad to be on the road again, though more to distance herself from New Brisbane and any potential repercussions that her actions might have had than anything else.
evening
We set up a campfire between our two vehicles, heated up some leftovers from last night's feast that we had brought along with us and settled in to eat. The moons were up and about, ours shining a bright white, theirs a dull red, like dried blood. I suspected that the new arrival would likely be staying for quite some time.
Jarhead stood up, wandering politely away from the campfire to take a piss. A moment later he yelped in surprise followed by a wail of distress and pain. Jumping up I ran over to see several large spines extending through the top of his right boot. He fell, landing
badly, emitting another agonised scream. The echidna responsible for Jarhead's injuries scurried off into the darkness.
Apprentice was already at my side, assisting me in bringing the large soldier back to the tank for treatment. On closer inspection, seven massive spikes had broken through the thick sole of his boot, right the fuck through. They seemed several meters long, though in reality maybe ten to fifteen centimeters.
He tried to keep still while we attempted to remove his boot as gently as we could but the massive spikes were too much for him to cope with. After a few seconds of writhing in agony, however, Jarhead politely passed out and Apprentice pulled out a small but incredibly sharp knife.
Expertly she separated boot from foot while managing to leave the spines unmolested, at least for the time being. Then, finding a pair of needle-nose pliers, she carefully began pulling the spines through and back out the sole of his foot. Apocalypse Girl had come in to watch, though she was looking as pale as I felt.
“These look like echidna spines,” She began, “But they're way too big, unless...” Ducking out of the tank, she returned a moment later. Showing me a recently taken photo on her phone, I noticed a puddle of Jarhead's blood, then the tracks, much larger than any echidna that I had ever seen. “More fucking mutants. Great.”
Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 7): July Page 7
